Space Rovers Tested in Arizona

Each year a NASA-led team of researchers, called Desert
Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS), test their latest human-robotic exploration systems in a simulated lunar
environment in Arizona. This year, the agency is conducting a 14-day mission
during which two crew members–an astronaut and a geologist–will live inside a Lunar
Electric Rover (LER). They will only leave the rover, wearing spacesuits, to
perform simulated moonwalks.

The event kicked off on August 28 and will continue until September
18. It will include testing NASA’s K-10 rover, designed for reconnaissance and
mapping, and its Tri-ATHLETE rover, a heavy-lifter that carries a habitat
for the LER to dock to.

The field tests are important in the development of NASA’s
planetary robotic systems–it not only gives engineers and technicians
experience with the equipment, but it ensures their reliability for future
missions.

New technologies that the researchers will be testing include LER avionics, a dust cover for the new lightweight spacesuits, and
controls and mechanisms for so-called suit ports–a system that allows astronauts to
slip in and out of their spacesuits without having to ever bring them inside
the vehicle, leaving the cabin free of any dust and contaminants (read
more from NASA on the suit ports here). Researchers will also test communications systems and
how different communications scenarios–continuous, limited, and non-real time–affect the crew’s
productivity.

The rovers will transverse a 20 kilometer circle in an area
40 miles north of Flagstaff called Black Point Lava Flow that is one mile south of
the Gray Mountains. The K-10 rover will be used as a scout for LER, traveling
ahead of it, mapping the area, gathering data, and planning tasks. Tri-ATHLETE
will mate with LER, carrying the crew’s habitat, supplies, and communication system.